Judge Rules Former Congressman be Detained

A judge has ordered the detention of former US Rep. Mel Reynolds after finding Reynolds' proposed place of residence while on bail in a tax case to be unacceptable. US District Judge John Darrah ordered Reynolds taken into custody after determining that the proposed residence would be too close to a school or playground for Reynolds to stay there on bail with electronic monitoring. The former Illinois congressman faces misdemeanor tax evasion charges and has residency restrictions due to a 1995 conviction for having had sex with an underage campaign worker. He previously failed to show up to a hearing in the tax case, saying caring for his ailing daughter in South Africa. He was arrested in Atlanta this month after arriving on a flight from Johannesburg.